Approachability and Theme:
If you have ever shouted at the T.V when watching a horror film as the character is fleeing the strangely robotic, slow moving killer, then this is the game for you. Final Girl is advertised as a solo game but I play this with my partner regularly and we treat it as a co-op game and come to decisions together. We have played this a few times now and have managed to reduce the table space of the game enough to make it manageable. I would fully recommend getting the play mats to help you set the game up and keep track of the different phases of your turn. I haven’t splashed out on the miniatures yet but that is probably happening in the near future.
A. Approachability:
i. As a bit of background info, my better half and myself very much enjoy horror films and will often have a marathon of full series of horror films of different themes and styles. We also play Arkham Horror the card game when we have a bit more time spare around the table.
I will say off the bat, Final Girl is very chance based and swings both ways, if you don’t like throwing dice with the odds stacked against you then this isn’t the game for you. You get those amazing turns and also those moments you shout at the characters on screen for. You will fail a walk roll, it will happen, and you’ll lose resources and feel like a failure.
That’s not to say there aren’t ways to help yourself and your character beat the system. You need a 5 or a 6 to succeed in a test, and depending how you are doing in the game will determine the amount of dice rolled. A 3 or a 4 will allow you to treat it as a success if you discard two of your action cards. A 1 or a 2 is a straight fail. Some of the actions have very little downsides but some will punish you for failing.
The first time we played Final Girl, we played the Sacred Groves episode and that was a major mistake! That one is so hard and has a ton of extra rules. So the game system is quite unique for this game, you are currently looking at the core box, you will need additional material to play this game. I would fully recommend starting with the Camp Happy Trails episode as it’s the one with no additional rules.
The first game and learning the rules is a steep curve, however the player board and the back of the rule books give you a turn breakdown and a icon gallery as a reference.
Even though our first play through didn’t go very well we both fully enjoyed the game and once we played the first episode we were both hooked.
You immediately get into the role of the survivor and this is helped by part of the set up. You assemble the killer with two cards, a dark power and a finale card.
ii. Theme:
- As previously stated, our household is a big fan of horror themed things. Each episode gives you a unique location and killer modelled on classic horror films or books. They are also interchangeable, so if you ever wondered if you could outrun Jason on the ship from Alien, you can play it out. Even down to the item and event cards which have some amazing flavour text and quotes, they are unique to the killer and the location. I find each killer extremely different and challenging, often with mechanics inspired by the source material. We often find ourselves talking about matching scenes or classic horror moments as we take different actions to try and survive.
- While the game is strong and enjoyable, I think the theme helps a lot with that. I have yet to play with someone who doesn’t enjoy horror, but I can see it being a hard sell. As for us we are sold and as previously stated I think I will ‘bling’ out our set with miniatures and vehicles.
2. Components and Storage:
Final Girl gets a huge thumbs up from us, maybe it shows our age but it’s got this old VHS vibe to the size and layout of each episode, being able to buy it in seasons also leans into this branding. The product quality is outstanding, not including the miniatures and vehicles minis, Opening a new episode is really exciting and being able to enjoy the references to the ip is great. I’ve recently looked into the Props box and this add so much in the way of game play rather than more content so that will be the first, I would say, extra content. It allows you to include signature action cards and bonus dice for amounts of victims saved appeals to me a lot more than having 3d models of the meeple.
Storage, amazing. Each episode is modular and stand alone. You can mix and match different killers in locations and also unlock items for each final girl you win a scenario with. Love the unique cards for everything so you literally pick up the core box and any episode box and you are ready to go.
Normally I would be consolidating boxes and reducing storage, wingspan and scythe. But with this the boards and the outer parts of the episodes and the storage for unique tokens and cards. I also love the shelf presence of the episodes and the artwork. It’s a great conversation starter on a book shelf in a dining room.
3. Replayability and Draw to the Table:
Item, setup cards, dark powers and events, all of these are unique to a killer and a location, so you can put Jason from camp crystal lake into the ship from Alien to mix it up.
Swingy nature of the game comes down to dice throwing. It can be massively frustrating and even game ending to roll snake eyes, but even that leans into the theme. If you plan and prepare, 8 times out of 10 you will be fine. Obviously the customisation we have covered, its pretty much limitless with the variance in each set up and playthrough is honestly shocking, and that’s from someone who owned a lot of Arkham horror. Now, I do play this with my partner and I will admit to allowing a few House rules when the situation may call for it. This game is hard make no mistake, it will chew you up not even blink. If i may offer the avid reader who may of made it this far some advise? The killer doesn’t move unless you see a boot symbol, and take your time with actions. I would rather succeed at 2 actions a turn and keep 4-6 cards in my hand than do 4 things on one turn and have to turtle up.
4. Final Thoughts:
Fully recommend, with or without theme, enjoyable solo game or co op experience. Having help with the action cards and when they are available in the tableau. Overall look and feel of the series, boxes and variety in both killers and strategies to try.
